Nkosi to bring mining prowess to Sasol
Coal veteran and former Exxaro CEO Sipho Nkosi will take the place of long-serving Sasol board member and chair Mandla Gantsho, who is retiring after 16 years with the group.
The JSE-listed synfuels and chemicals company announced that Gantsho would retire with effect from November 22 after serving on its board of directors for 16 years, with more than five of these in the position of chair.
Gantsho, who has extensive experience in banking and formerly served as a director for the SA Reserve Bank, retains his position as chair on the board of Impala Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore.
Nkosi has a similarly impressive pedigree with more than 36 years’ experience in the SA resources industry, especially coal. His most recent role was CEO of Exxaro Resources from 2006 to 2016.
Nkosi has extensive experience in the operational, financial, logistics and marketing areas of the resources sector.
Thursday’s announcement comes ahead of the official opening of Sasol’s Impumelelo colliery on Friday. The project forms part of the R14bn mine replacement programme, which aims to secure critical feedstock for the company’s synthetic fuels plant until 2050.
Sasol Mining is SA’s thirdlargest coal producer and runs one of the world’s largest underground coal mining complexes. It produces over 40-million tons of coal annually, of which more than 90% is used as critical feedstock for the production of synfuels and a range of chemicals.
Nkosi will join the Sasol board on May 1 as independent nonexecutive director and will succeed Gantsho as chair after the annual general meeting in November.
In a statement, the board said Gantsho had led the company through global and local economic cycles and the execution of large capital projects.